Pictures of the Canyon

Have you seen that the best paintings have shadow and light? Sometimes the pictures are all the more beautiful because of the shadows in them.

I think of the hike in this way. How can it be, that something so difficult, something for which you curse yourself while you are doing it, can also be so magical? The only way I could explain it, is through the "shadow" and "light". Just like my life... the light is all the more visible, because of the shadows.

As I looked through the photos, so many memories came back. I want to share some of what it means to hike the 85 km in this canyon.

There are many stories of the canyon. Things that make it fun while you are there, things to ponder as you walk. There is the story of 2 students who tried to complete the hike with a motor bike! (Of course it would be students who tried this stunt!) The old wreckage of the bike is down there, as evidence of the truth of this tale. What amazed me is - they managed to get a long way before the motor bike called it a day.

Then there is a grave! I kid you not. It is the grave of Lieutenant Thilo von Trotha . He was a German officer killed in a skirmish between the Germans and the local Nama people in 1905. He had been sent to make peace with them. While he was negotiating with them, another Lieutenant with 30 cavalry men entered the canyon in pursuit of cattle which had been stolen from them. Believing this to be a trap, the Nama's shot von Trotha. He was buried on the spot.

There are sulphur springs in the canyon too. The others claim to have seen them! I will have to go again ... I think I had my head down and was trying to complete the day's walk, when I passed those by.

One of the most surprising things for me, is that there are wild horses in the canyon too. We were privileged to see them.

Now the group we hiked with, has gone every year for the last 8 years. They have made their own traditions and they pull some crazy stunts along the way. On about day 3 there is a sand dune. They climb it, and then have a race to the bottom to see who gets there first. I sat and watched this in awed amazement. They have spare energy for this?????

They also have a small bottle of whiskey - hidden away. Every year, they go check if it is still there, then hide it away again.

The most famous - is their beach race. There is a place which looks like a beach. The contenders, with full kit of rucksacks on, line up and do a 100 meter sprint. This is so hotly contested, that it is filmed and photographed to determine the winner! Yes - certifiable, the lot of them. What do you think happens to your brains, cooked in the hot Namib sun?

I will continue in the next post, and expand on a day's hike. My time is up for today, and I guess yours too. Next week, we will be back to the reality of Cream Puff, the Prof and NMH. But sometimes - it is nice to take a slight detour.